Scheduling Chain

How ship dates cascade into engineering deadlines.

Related Documents: Project Delivery Overview Purchasing Signal Chain FE to PE Release

The Chain 

Truck Entry (PM creates ship dates)
  → Sales Order Release (ship date set per line)
    → Job Required By Date
      → Operation Start Dates (including PE start)

Each step is back-calculated by Epicor based on operations, resources, hours, and priority.

What This Means for Engineers

PE start dates are not arbitrary. They are derived from truck ship dates through this chain. When you understand this, you understand why late releases have real consequences.

Truck Entry

The PM creates truck entries in Epicor to establish ship dates. Truck IDs follow format #### – Truck ## (e.g., 1091 – Truck 01). “Need By” is the on-site date; “Ship By” is the departure date.

Sales Order Release

Ship dates from the Truck Entry flow into Sales Order releases — one release per line item.

Job Required By Date

Each job inherits its Required By date from the Sales Order release.

Operation Start Dates

Epicor back-calculates operation start dates from the Required By date, accounting for operation sequence, estimated hours, and resource availability. The PE start date is one of these calculated dates.

Late Release Impact

When an FE releases a job after the scheduled PE start date:

  • The PE schedule is compressed or pushed
  • This may require truck date changes affecting the entire project
  • Adjacent jobs on the same truck may be impacted
  • Material ordering timelines may be disrupted

If releasing late, coordinate with adjacent departments and state in the release post Notes that coordination is underway. See FE to PE Release — Late Release.

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